The price is agreed. The model is chosen. And then the order stalls — or worse, the goods ship under terms the buyer never checked. A deposit percentage nobody discussed, a warranty that covers the frame but not the wearing parts, a balance payment due before anyone has seen the goods. None of this is anyone’s bad faith. It is what happens when the commercial terms are left until after the price is settled, and treated as paperwork instead of as part of the purchase.
For a media order the terms are simple and the risk is small. For an equipment order — a screw press, a DAF unit, a packaged plant — the terms are the purchase. A buyer ordering two packaged sewage treatment units, for example, is buying a payment schedule, a warranty and an inspection regime, with machines attached. Get the terms right and the equipment follows. Get them wrong and the cheapest quotation becomes the most expensive delivery.
Payment: Who Pays What, and When
The first question is the structure. A normal export order is paid in stages: a deposit to start production, a payment on shipment or on presentation of shipping documents, and a balance on delivery or after inspection. The proportions vary, and they are negotiable — but they must be written down before production starts, not discovered in the proforma invoice.
There is a practical reason the deposit matters beyond cash flow. Production is commonly scheduled once the deposit is received: the factory buys material and books the production run against a paid order. A buyer who expects production to start on the strength of a purchase order alone will wait, and will not understand why. Confirm the trigger in writing — “production starts on receipt of the deposit” — and the timeline becomes predictable.
The second question is the method. Telegraphic transfer (TT) is the usual route for equipment of this size; a letter of credit (LC) adds bank security and bank cost, and is worth discussing on a first order of real value or with a supplier you have not worked with before. Whichever method is chosen, the proforma invoice should state it, the currency, the bank details, and which side bears the bank charges. A quotation that says “30% deposit” without saying how, in what currency, and to which account has not finished the sentence.
Three points to settle before you sign:
- Never leave the balance payment unconditional. Tie the final payment to a defined event — shipment with documents, delivery, or inspection — and write the event down. A balance due “on shipment” and a balance due “on acceptance” are different obligations.
- Match the payment to the risk. A first order with a new supplier justifies stronger protection — a smaller deposit, an LC, or a balance held until inspection — than a repeat order with a supplier whose goods you have already received. Say so openly; a good supplier expects it.
- Confirm what the price includes. The payment terms and the freight terms are one agreement, not two. Is the price EXW, FOB or CIF? Our freight guide explains the difference, and it decides who arranges — and who pays for — the freight, the insurance and the destination charges. A deposit paid on a CIF price is a different commitment from a deposit paid on an EXW price.
Warranty: Ask What It Covers, Not How Long It Is
“Warranty: 12 months” is the least informative sentence in a quotation. Twelve months of what, covering which parts, against which failures, and with what remedy? A warranty that covers manufacturing defects in the frame and excludes wearing parts, membranes, seals and electrical components is a very different warranty from one that covers the machine as supplied — and both can be described, accurately, as “12 months”.
Ask for the warranty in writing, itemised:
- Duration, and from when. From shipment, from delivery, or from commissioning? A warranty that starts at shipment is months shorter by the time the machine is installed. Confirm the start date.
- What is covered. Structural parts, mechanical parts, electrical parts, wearing parts — each should be named. Wearing parts have shorter lives by nature; the question is whether they are covered at all, and for how long.
- What voids it. Wrong power supply, running outside the specified conditions, unauthorised modification, failure to follow the maintenance schedule. These exclusions are usually reasonable — but they must be known before the machine is installed, not cited after it fails.
- What the remedy is. Repair, replacement part, replacement machine — and who pays the freight on the replacement part, and how quickly it ships. A warranty that promises a free part but charges the freight and takes eight weeks to deliver it is worth less than it looks.
Be careful with one confusion in particular: service life is not warranty. Our MBBR media has a catalogue life of more than 15 years; that is a life figure, not a 15-year warranty, and no honest supplier would present it as one. Modified bio balls carry a 1-year warranty alongside a 5-year normal-use life — two different numbers, for two different things. If a quotation gives you one number without saying which it is, ask.
Inspection: See It Before You Pay the Balance
Inspection is the buyer’s last control point, and the cheapest one. Once the balance is paid and the container is on the water, every problem becomes a negotiation. Before the balance is paid, every problem is a correction.
Agree the inspection before shipment, in writing:
- What is checked. Model and quantity against the order — for media, that means counting bags at 0.1 m³ per bag and checking the container loading (30 m³ in a 20ft, 60 m³ in a 40ft, 70 m³ in a 40HQ) against the order quantity. For equipment, it means the model plate, the scope of supply, the spare parts list and the documentation. Photographs and a short video of the packed goods cost the supplier almost nothing and remove almost all doubt.
- Who checks it. The buyer’s own inspection on a visit, a third-party inspection company, or a documented supplier inspection with photos and video. Third-party inspection costs money and is worth it on a first order of real value; on a repeat order, a photo and video record is usually enough. Decide in advance, and state who pays.
- What happens if it fails. The right to hold the balance, the right to require correction before shipment, and the time allowed for it. An inspection clause without a remedy is a viewing, not an inspection.
- What counts as acceptance. A signed inspection report, or a defined period after delivery without a written objection. Without an acceptance point, the warranty start date and the balance payment both drift.
If you vetted the supplier before ordering — see our supplier-vetting guide — inspection is a formality. If you did not, it is your only protection, and it must be thorough.
What to Put in the Purchase Order
A purchase order is not a formality. It is the document that will be read if anything goes wrong, and it should contain everything the quotation promised and nothing the quotation did not. Before you issue it, check it against this list:
| Term | What to write in the PO |
|---|---|
| Goods | Model, quantity, specifications — exactly as quoted |
| Price and basis | Total price, currency, EXW / FOB / CIF, port named |
| Payment | Deposit %, method (TT / LC), balance trigger event |
| Production start | Trigger (e.g. receipt of deposit) and the delivery schedule |
| Warranty | Duration, start date, what is covered, exclusions, remedy |
| Inspection | Who inspects, what is checked, remedy if it fails |
| Documents | Packing list, certificates, manuals — listed, not assumed |
| Freight and insurance | Who arranges and pays, under which term |
| Scope boundary | What HNS does and does not include (see below) |
If any line of that table is blank, the purchase order is not ready. Fill it in with the supplier before signing, not after.
What to Send HNS for an Equipment Order
Send us the equipment or media you need, the quantity, the destination port and the freight term you prefer, and the payment, warranty and inspection terms you need — or ask us what we propose, and we will put them in writing in the quotation. We will state the model, the scope of supply, what is included and what is not, and the terms, so the purchase order you issue matches the quotation you accepted.
One boundary, stated plainly so it is never a surprise: HNS manufactures its MBBR and sponge media and the full range of wastewater treatment equipment at our own factory in Yixing. We do not take on whole-plant process design, civil works, installation, commissioning or operation, and we do not guarantee effluent quality — those belong to the plant designer and operator. What we do guarantee is what is in the quotation: the goods, the terms and the inspection behind them.
Then contact us with your order details. The price decides whether you buy; the terms decide whether the purchase works. Put them in writing first, and the rest of the order takes care of itself.